Olympus PEN E-P1 review

Having said that, it's a country mile better than any compact model. Results at ISO 800 sparkle with detail; ISO 1600 is perfectly usable; and even ISO 3200 is acceptable. Force it to ISO 100 and contrast, colour reproduction and detail are lovely - only someone used to a full-frame DSLR could seriously find fault. And if you want to extract a little more detail than default JPEGs, you can shoot in RAW mode and squeeze a little more out of it.

It's just as well that low-light performance is good since - just like an old-style rangefinder - there's no integrated flash (the PEN-specific one from Olympus will set you back £159 inc VAT). But, unlike a rangefinder, the EP-1 will shoot superb HD video in 720p at 30fps. Autofocus remains active too if you want, although it's clearly audible on the soundtrack.

The EP-1 does lots of things very well and, just as important, it's great fun to use too. The shutter lag is frustrating, though, it isn't quite as compact as we'd truly like, and then of course there's the price. In short it isn't the ideal universal travel camera, but if you've been waiting for a true rangefinder-style digital at a vaguely sensible price, the PEN EP-1 fits the bill.

Author: David Fearon